A/N: Ahh!! I am soo sorry! My computer broke down for a few days thanks to a snow storm, but everything's all better now :)

~

Buffy's eyes bulged in disbelief.

"Are you joking?" She whispered harshly at Giles, who stood solemnly staring at a book, "I can't kill a girl...an innocent."

"What, one innocent? It wouldn't hurt you. Just kill her." Giles stared straight ahead at Buffy, speaking easily. "Then Dave will be gone for good. In the end, you'll be doing her a favor. She'll be freed and Dave will wither in the pits of hell."

Buffy narrowed her eyes incredulously.

"Giles, I can't do that."

"Dammit, Buffy! You have to! Just kill the damned girl and then it will be over!"

Spike stared at Giles. There was something wrong with this...

Giles would never say that. Everyone knows that Giles would never say something like that.

Except that they didn't...

Spike's mind ran in backward circles as he realized that everyone in the room, except for him and Dawn, barely knew Giles. They didn't know his mannerisms. They didn't know the way he thought. They didn't even really know his moral code...

Spike clenched his hands into fists and sent daggers towards the Watcher.

"Well, well. Dave has finally decided to make himself known."

With that "Giles" simply smiled.

"The vampire is more observant than I would've wagered. Not as keen as he could be, however, as I've been inhabiting this body for since that idiotic girl pranced in here. I really hated it, almost hoped one of you * would * figure it out. Can you imagine, me? A M'Haruby demon, pretending to be some do-gooder? Sickening, really. But I was very convincing, if I do say so myself."

Buffy's green eyes widened with mounting anger as she reached for a weapon, any weapon. Dawn shot her hand out and stopped her.

"You can't kill him. It's still Giles' body." Buffy slowly retracted her hand, but continued glaring at Dave. She then abruptly shook her head.

"You can't be who you say you are. You were alone with me, you helped research, you told me about those Fate things, you revealed what sort of demon it was."

"Yes, I know, and it all comes down to my given genius. I needed you to trust me. I needed you, and everyone, to believe that I was on your side. That I was still Mr. Rupert Giles. What kind of name is that anyway, Rupert? Beats me. Anyway, I was planning on continuing with the façade, but Spike here figured me out. This is a minor setback, I must concur, but I'll surmount it. I always surmount it." He laughed maliciously and sneered at the small Slayer. "My powers are far greater than anything you could possibly imagine Slayer, let alone what you yourself could possess. I could make you love me, Buffy. I could make you need me so badly, that you would kill anything that got in the way of the two of us being together." Buffy felt her heart rate weaken, she was falling slowly... "Almost as powerful as the love you feel for your sister."

"I don't have a sister..." Buffy murmured, her eyelids cement. Dave directed his glare sharply to Dawn. He smiled again and blinked, never faltering in his gaze towards Dawn.

"My mistake."

Buffy felt herself float through the air, ecstasy running through her body. It was greater than anything she could ever imagine...

Spike discreetly clutched a large text, one that could easily knock out Giles.

"I'd think twice before doing that, vampire." Dave snarled, using his true voice. Spike backed away from the book. This was going to tougher than he thought.

"Right then, look, Davie. As much as fun as I'm having listen to you carry on about your powers like some pounce, I'd rather get to fighting. But you have such an obvious disadvantage being in Giles' body, that I'd feel almost * bad * about fighting you in that condition. So, be a good boy and go to your true form." Spike smirked at the demon, whose eyes had narrowed so much that they were practically closed.

"How true." With a burst of energy, he screamed. Dawn watched in morbid amazement as blood exuded from every opening in Giles' body and as it flowed out into a puddle. Slowly, a figure rose from the blood, swirling and cackling with thunder and sparks. (Xander had fainted at this point). Then, in a matter of seconds, Dawn watched as a demon walked slowly towards Spike. It was an odd looking demon, much like a mixture of every Ghost of Christmas Future she had ever seen in any movie, only less endearing. She felt her head get faint and her knees wobble. The creature moved its (what she guessed was) head and nodded slowly.

"It is expected that you would be light-headed when face to face with my true image. Most people don't live long enough to." The demon felt a power course through him like none other. It was the second time that night that he had been in his true form and he felt amazing...connected, once again. Through his reverie, however, he felt a coquettish tap on his back. He turned around and saw the Slayer, completely lucid and pissed off.

"Unfortunately, when you changed back, you're little hypnosis changed, too." With that said, she socked him in (what she hoped was) his face. With a smooth roundhouse, he was on the floor. He pounced back up and pulled two long swords from within his robe. She easily ducked each blow, all the while punching his gut. Spike slammed into the demon and wrestled on of the swords out.

"Buffy!" He yelled. She looked up and caught the flying sword. She swung at Dave who defended himself. There was a tremendous clanking of swords and the smell of lightly grazed flesh began to fill the air.

Giles began to stir.

Buffy sent a powerful right kick into Dave who was then able to slice somewhat into her shoulder. Hissing in the pain, she swung violently, but to no avail.

Dawn rushed over to Giles who was muttering something under his breath.

They continued to spar with one another, moving harshly, the thrill of battle beginning to invoke both of them.

Giles whispered into Dawn's ear, before collapsing once again.

Dave lowered his sword, ready to cut deeply into Buffy's stomach.

"Buffy! Take off his robe! M'Harubys can't stand any sort of light in their true form!!" Dawn screamed. Buffy instantly reacted, grabbing the top seam of his robe and pulling as hard as she can. She felt a burning prod in her stomach, but it was nothing compared to the pain the M'Haruby was obviously in. It screeched like a Banshee and the Scooby Gang (minus Xander, who was still snoozing peacefully on the ground) watched in wonder as tiny red dots covered his whole body, slowly taking up everything he was until he was gone. Buffy looked over to Emily.

"Are you okay?" Emily smiled and nodded.

"The same thing happened to me when I saw him. I feel nothing but hate for that bastard." Buffy grinned warmly at the burst of confidence that seemed to fill Emily's voice all of a sudden. She then rushed to Giles and Dawn.

"Your stomach..."Dawn began to say, but Buffy just reached for Giles' neck.

"There's a pulse. Someone call 911. Get him to the hospital, he should be okay."

"You need one, too. A hospital, I mean." Willow spoke suddenly, pointing towards the wound in Buffy's stomach.

"I'll be okay. Slayers heal fast. I'll just gauze it up." Buffy forced a smile, feeling the pain for the first time. Spike walked over to her.

"So. You defeated the bad guy. How's it feel?" Buffy shrugged, trying to ignore the attraction that tugged at her. Spike and I are just going to be friends. She thought to herself.

"Tired and hungry." She replied with a smile. He returned the gesture and put on an air of boredom.

"Well, you're no Britney Spear's or anything..." He smiled, only to meet Buffy's confused face.

"Who's Britney Spears?" Spike froze, feeling a sick sort of confusion come over him. Willy knew who Britney Spears was... Then he clamped his eyes shut in anger. Willy knew something.

"I gotta go, luv. Congrats on the fight or whatever. Make sure ya wake up Harris, too." He rushed out, leaving Buffy even more bewildered than usual.

~

Spike slammed open the door to Willy's. He took the barkeep by the collar and slammed him against the wall.

"Don't have time for your mind-games, mate. Now what do you know?!" The man wriggled himself loose from Spike's grip.

"Dammit, I knew I shouldn't have said the Britney Spears thing. I was just trying to act like him." Spike narrowed his eyes in impatience. Willy sighed and slowly morphed in a strange looking little man with glasses and a Rat Pack hat. Spike rolled his eyes dramatically.

"Ah. I get it. Another one of those "I'm-Not-Who-You-Thought-I-Was" deals. First question, who the hell are you?" The man quirked his eyebrows in surprise.

"I could've sworn we met. Oh, well. Maybe you just don't remember or maybe I'm imagining things. Whistler's the name."

"You a demon?" Spike asked, grabbing his collar again.

"Whoa, whoa there pal. Yes, of the technical sorts. I'm here to balance out good and evil, something which is thrown way off base here."

"Excuse me?"

"You got sent here by The Choosers right? The ones who you think are all good and powerful?"

"Yeah..." Spike let go of Whistler and crossed his arms, waiting to see where this was going.

"Well, they aren't. Some of 'em are. A good few, actually. But not all of them. Some of them just can't wait to see you fail. There's two conflicting destinies at work here, one that ends with this complete and everlasting happiness for you and for your little girlfriend, and another that ends with pain and destruction of all man-slash-demonkind. I gotta make sure neither of those happen."

"Could you vague that up a bit, mate?" Spike asked, borrowing a Buffy-ism. Whistler smirked and shrugged, walking off.

"Hey, can't you at least give me a hint of what you need me to do?"

"Just make sure Angel gets the hell outta here by June. That gives you 10 months to distract, befriend, and win over Buffy, so that he'll have no reason to stay."

Whistler then disappeared, just as the real Willy walked in.

"What can I get ya?" Spike sat down and shook his head.

"Bourbon and pig's blood."

It was going to be a long 10 months.